news

The First Annual Greyslater Mother's Day Giveaway

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Natalie Slater

Mother's Day is right around the corner and we could post a bunch of corny stuff here about how it's an opportunity to thank Mother Earth by adopting green habits (using products from our store, of course), but you wouldn't be reading our blog if you didn't already know that stuff- we'll spare you. 

Instead, we want to know more about your moms. What kind of ladies raised the smart, good-looking folks who peruse our site? Because we are moms ourselves, we know that most children won't do something just because they should, so we came prepared to bribe you. Follow the steps for entry below, and one of you will win one of our newest products, an EcoGranite Cutting Board (coming soon!) and you'll get to stay up 1/2 hour past your bedtime.

Our EcoGranite Cutting Boards are made from 100% post industrial recycled granite slabs, that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. It's natural stone, so it's perfectly food-safe, and it's granite for crying out loud - you'll have it forever! 

But first, we wanted to introduce you to our moms, Lynne and Christine. What sort of women took two wild animals and turned them into the classy ladies you see before you? Well, here are a few things we think you should know about our moms. 

This is Natalie with her mom, Lynne. Lynne is a second grade teacher and has two other children that Natalie says you don't need to know about because clearly, she's Lynne's favorite. A high school rock n' roller, she's definitely responsible for Natalie's rebellious streak, but she also made sure her kids had a strong sense of empathy and understanding. 

Here are three things Natalie thinks you should know about her mom:

1. She is a wrestling nut. Her favorite is CM Punk, but she also cheers for The Undertaker and Alberto DelRio.

2. She has tattoos, although she would kill me if I told you of what and how many. 

3. Growing up, my mom didn't look like the other girls' moms. With her high cheekbones, olive skin, and her chic sense of style - cream leather slouchy boots, noisy bangle bracelets - I thought she was the most beautiful, glamorous lady in the world and I still do. Every time I hear The Distiller's Gypsy Rose Lee I think of her. 

Here's Katya with her mom, Christine. Christine manages philanthropy for a huge corporation- basically, she gives away money to deserving organizations for a living. She never got around to having more kids, mainly because Katya is so awesome she didn't think any other offspring could measure up (this is entirely untrue). She was a trailblazing female executive in a business dominated by men, and has a tenacity and sense of responsibility that is the model for how Katya wants to be.

Here are three things you might not know about Christine:

1. She is obsessed with Christmas music, particularly the kind that has monks chanting or wolves howling in the background. Katya still loves her.

2. She is an avid organic gardener and composter, but started 30 years before it was cool.

3. She spends months thinking about the perfect gifts for family holidays, and has been known to buy stuff more than 6 months in advance.

Now it's your turn! Tell us about your mom and one of you will win a EcoGranite Cutting Board ($50 value) to give to your mom or keep for yourself - but if you do that you have to promise to use it to cook her dinner at least once! 

There are several ways to enter, and you can do as many of them as you like. 

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell us three things we should know about your mom. 
2. Pin a photo of your mom (or you & your mom) on Pinterest and use the hashtag #GreyslaterMom in the description so we can find it. 
3. Finish the sentence "My mom taught me _______" and Tweet it to us at @GreyslaterGoods 
4. Post a photo of your mom (or you & your mom) on our Facebook wall. 

Cupcakes and skulls - a look at the ladies of Greyslater

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Natalie Slater

Whew! It has been a busy month here at Greyslater. We launched our site, scored 500 Facebook fans, enjoyed our first write up, became members of Green America and joined 1% for the Planet. Meanwhile, we’ve been shipping your orders in reused and recycled packaging and gearing up for our very first video!

We thought we’d take time out today, though, to tell you a little bit more about who we are to hopefully give you a better idea about why we do what we do.

First things first, here we are:

Katya                             Natalie

As we stated in our About Us, the two of us met while we shared an office in 2011. Although we might look like an unlikely pair, we were united by our love of donuts, Journey sing-a-longs and well-designed products, among other things. 

Now, judging purely on what you’ve seen so far, see if you can answer the following questions correctly:

1. Who has more human bones in her house, Natalie or Katya?
2. Which lady has an elaborate collection of Japanese miniatures?
3. Who can eat more cupcakes in a one-hour period? 

Let’s see how you did:

1. Who has more bones in her house? That would be Katya. Although Natalie can claim more tattoos of skulls, Katya’s background in paleoanthropology has resulted in her ownership of 3 skulls and a complete pelvis (all replicas, of course!). She also has over 500 photos of human pelvis bones in a binder, but don’t worry about her sanity- they were for a legit research project at the Smithsonian. Keep an eye out for one of the skulls as a star in our upcoming video.
2. Meanwhile, it’s Natalie who has the borderline creepy collection of miniatures. She started collecting them from the Japanese market about five years ago and now boasts two teeny, tiny bakery replicas complete with thimble-sized mini reusable coffee mugs. She’ll never admit it, but she just might sneak out of bed at night to play with them.
3. Who can eat more cupcakes in an hour? While we haven’t officially gone head-to-head- we’ll save that for another blog post- we’re going to go with Katya for this one. Natalie runs a baking website called Bake and Destroy, and served as a guest judge on the pilot episode of Cupcake Wars, but Katya has been known to eat three giant Crumbs cupcakes in a single sitting, while managing to get work done. Rumor has it she’s topped that record, but it’s hard to verify what goes on in the privacy of her own home.

Now that you know what makes us different, here are some things that make us the same:

• We love being Chicagoans
• We are obsessed with A Game of Thrones
• We love indie businesses – watch us shop the Renegade Craft Fair if you don’t believe us!
• We are Google document masters
• We’re proud mamas
• We’re fully committed to bringing sustainable, Made in the USA products to our customers

So that’s the two of us in a nutshell, nice to meet you! We’d love to know more about you – like us on Facebook and tell us a funny fact about you!